Rubbish, Rubbish Weather, Great Biking…

Despite the lack of my own cycling today I do have a few matters to write about here.  Firstly an omission from yesterday blog post.

Whilst riding along yesterday I couldn’t help noticing the amount of litter by the road side.  They were not main roads they were quiet country roads.  I don’t know how people can just open their car windows and throw out their litter.  I remember a couple of weeks ago I was riding along and saw this fellow, who I assume was a council worker, in his fluorescent yellow jacket and one of those litter pick up gadgets.  He had the tool in one hand and litter sack in the other steadily filling it up.  After I had passed him I saw a full sack, ready for collection about every 200 metres.  I think that is appalling.

I have noticed this litter problem all over the country, not just locally.  The only place I haven’t noticed it is when I am in France, be it side road or motorway, the roadsides are always spotless.  So much so that its probably the reason I notice it.

I know many years ago there used to be a campaign here and everywhere you saw posters saying ‘Keep Britain Tidy’.  I think its time for a revival to give those responsible for the mess a nudge.  I believe it is actually an offence to throw your litter away in public places but I never hear of anybody being punished for it.  It looks like there are plenty of guilty people around.  Mind you, having said that I cant say that I recall ever actually seeing anybody throw something from a vehicle.  But someone is for sure.

Next time you are out on the roads just take a look at the road side.  I am sure wherever you are, in UK at least, you will see what I mean.

If I felt I had any influence I think I would start a campaign but I’ll just carry on muttering in my little corner of the World..

More Rubbish News

This time I am talking about the rubbish weather we are having.  I was supposed to be marshalling at the circuit races at Milton Keynes Bowl tomorrow that are being promoted by Team MK.  I say ‘are’ because tomorrows event was to be the third in a series of three but unfortunately due to the weather it has had to be postponed.  I know there have also been lots of other events suffering the same fate all over the UK tomorrow.  Come on Spring, get a shift on..

Fabulous Fabien

To finish on a positive note It was great to see Fabien Cancellara back to winning ways again today in the E3 Harelbecke race.  He is one of my favourite riders and he won today in the typical way that he has.  He just rode away from a group of other riders on a climb with about 26km to go to the finish and then held them off all the way.  He built a lead of around a minute and despite the fact the five chasers were all working together to close the gap they were unable to make any inroads at all.  Its a great way to win a race when you win like that you have really won it.

Last year was not a good year for him, his only success was in the opening time trial of the Tour de France and he then held the yellow jersey for a week until Bradley Wiggins took it off him and kept it to the finish!

Bonus Ride…

Today didn’t quite turn out as I had expected it to but that wasn’t a bad thing.  My friend Cyril called this morning to see if it would be OK to bike over from Wellingborough for a coffee.  He knew I would be home because the caravan was having its annual service today.  After I put the phone down I thought it would be a good idea to join him for part of the way on his return ride and make a looped ride of it for me.  It was looking like a good day for a bike ride too, bright sunshine and a bit warmer than yesterday so I was glad of the opportunity.  I needed to get some miles in my legs before leading the ‘C’ group of Team MK on the club ride on Saturday.  It had been over a week since my last ride.

Cyril arrived at the same time as Dennis who had come to service the caravan so a batch of coffee’s were made and duly drunk.  Dennis was all set up and work was underway so after a brief chat and a few more ginger biscuits and an espresso I donned my cycling gear and Cyril and I set off on the bikes.  We rode around  twelve miles together until we reached Grendon.  There we went our separate ways, Cyril back to Wellingborough and I completed the loop with another eight miles back to Olney.

Click on map for detailed ride data.

When I got back home Dennis was just packing up.  Apparently we need to have a job done on the caravan but it can wait until our return from France at the beginning of July.  They will need the ‘van for a while it seems.

This is the first afternoon for about two weeks that I haven’t had any cycle racing to watch on Eurosport.  It feels kind of strange in a way.  Never mind there is plenty more racing to come, right through until October and three, big three week tours to come in there, Italy France and Spain not to mention the big one day classics.  So plenty of armchair cycling in store yet!

Its still looking nice and sunny out there now so I will close and maybe we will get a brief walk in before ‘afternoon tea’.. !!

Annecy Bike Rides..

A brief description follows of my bike rides during my weeks stay at lake Annecy in the French Alps.  I have put them all together in one posting rather than several individual posts.  Some of the ride locations can be identified from this photo map of the lake.  I have also shown the ride profile rather than a map by way of a change given the nature of the terrain, I thought it might be a bit more interesting.  You can access the main ride detail including a route map by clicking the profile image though

1) Lake Annecy

Ride Profile, click image for map and full ride data

A visit to area usually starts with a circuit of the lake as a loosener ride after a couple of travel and probably and extra day or two without a bike ride.  Its about 24 miles all the way round with a nasty little lump in middle at Talloires.  My details show a slightly longer distance in the Garmin stats because we started the ride then Cyril couldn’t remember if he shut his tent so we had to make a return to base.  Apart from that there is very little of note on the ride.

We started from the site on the cycle path then turned off onto the road at the bottom of the lake and its all road up that side of the lake when you can return to the cycle path as you enter Annecy town at the lakeside park.

2) Montain of Semnoz and Cret de Chatillion

Ride Profile, click image for map and full ride data

This was the first long climb. It entailed a ride of about 9 miles up to Annecy town on the cycle path and then turn off to to the footslopes of ride up to Semnoz.  A climb of about 11 miles mostly a gradient of round 7 or 8% but quite a few stretches between of 8 & 10%.  A nicely wooded climb for the most part but towards the top as you emerge from the tree line it is quite exposed.  A double espresso was called for at bar at the top and well earned I think.

A very tiring ride but after the coffee stop there follows a magnificent descent of about 16 miles with a little climb or two about half way down around the village of Leschaux, then on down again to St Jorioz by the lake and onto the cycle track back ‘home’.

3) Col de Forclaz

Ride Profile, click image for map and full ride data

I did this ride alone as by now Cyril had decided climbing wasn’t his thing after the experience of Semnoz.and opted for a ride to the bottom of the cycle track from our campsite a return trip of about 28 miles.

I did this ride from a different direction to my previous ride to the top from.  Approaching it this time from the north and starting climb at the top of the climb from Talloires by the lake.  Its a longer climb than the other direction but I thought maybe it would not be so steep.. WRONG !!!!

It was a relentless climb of about 6 miles with an average gradient of about 8-9% and a few bits of 14-15%.  I just got my head down and rode onward and upward for what seemed ages but finally the last hairpin was acheived and I could see the cafe at the top of the long straight incline ahead.

A brief stop and then the descent of about 5 miles to Vesonne and short hop onto the cycle path and the 5 flat miles back to the campsite.

4) Col de Tamie & Circuit of Lake

Ride Profile, click image for map and full ride data

This was a gentle climb I discovered back in June with a gentle gradient of about 3 or 4% mostly after a start at about 6% out of Faverges.  I managed to persuade Cyril to join me again on this ride.  A gentle quiet ride through mainly open country, little or no traffic and no serious inclines.

Again, first a gentle ride down the Cycle track for a six miles to the town of Faverges. A sharp climb up out of the town and though a couple of outlying villages for about 2 miles then it settled into a more gentle climb up to the Abbaye de Tamie close to the top and on the another mile to the summit, albeit a low summit after an altitude gain of about 1500 feet.

The climb is followed by a swooping descent back down to Faverges and gentle enough that the brakes are not needed until the last drop into town and hairpins.

5) Col de Tamie & Albertville

Ride Profile, click image for map and full ride data

The next day I did the same climb agasin, but solo, Cyril hadn’t been persuaded that climbing was his thing.  This time however I carried on over the toil, exploring new ground.  What a thrilling descent that was.  About 7 miles of hairpins over sparsely trafficked roads enabling a bit of licence taking a wider line around the hairpins.

I dropped down into the back of Albertville and made my way through town and then onto the bottom end of the cycle path the 20 miles or so back to camp.

This was the day of murders referred to in my previous posting and my route took me within a couple of hundred yards of the murder spot but fortunately just early enough to miss all the excitement!

6) Col de Leschaux

Ride Profile, click image for map and full ride data

My final ride of the trip was to the summit of the Col de Leschaux.  Again solo and it entailed a few miles north up the cycle path to Sevrier, just over halfway to Annecy.  This was a gentle climb of around 3 & 4% with a maximum of 5% and 8 miles long.

A brief pause at the top and I was on my way down again.  I was enjoying the ‘no brakes’ descent again the same as the other day but after a few miles I caught up with 2 cars following a truck down at around 30mph so I had to rein myself in and use my brakes.  I had several pictures taken of me by the girls in the back of the Swiss registered car in front of me during the course of the descent.  I would sometimes get ‘dropped’ on the straight bits but catch up with them on the bends and come swooping up to the back of the car again and this happened all the way down to the bottom.

I remember thinking as I looked at my Garmin showing speeds of 30+mph that the likes of Mark Cavendish and other sprinters achieve these kinds of speeds and more, up to about 40mph plus ON THE FLAT! in their sprint finishes.  It was quite a reality check for me I can tell you.

So thats a brief summary of my rides over the week.  I went out every day for a ride and enjoyed every minute of them.  It is a real pleasure to ride on French roads.  Very lightly populated roads and very smooth and such drivers as there are, are very cyclist friendly and understanding.  What with that and the scenery and the weather I can think of few places I would like to cycle more.  In fact on my cycling experiences so far I cant think of any, I am just assuming there would be somewhere better.  If you know of it let me know and I’ll be there !

Here is a summary of the weeks riding stats :-

Click image for larger view…

Just to say the Max HR must be inaccurate, maybe a blip of some kind because my rate seldom if ever exceeds 154 bpm.

Murder At Lake Annecy..

No, not the title of an Agatha Christie book but an event that took place near me on my visit to France last week.

I am sure any UK and probably other European readers will be aware of the events that took place last week near to the shores of Lake Annecy in France.  But for anyone that doesn’t know and is interested in my account, it follows here.

Last Wednesday afternoon following our bike ride my friend Cyril and I were taking it easy around the campsite but late afternoon we became aware of the persistent wailing of  police sirens up and down the road outside.  We assumed there had been a big road accident or something.

Later in the evening I was catching up on the news from home on the BBC News website when I saw a report headed  ’4 people murdered in Eastern France’.  This aroused my curiosity and I read on.  It went on to say that 4 people camping by the side of  Lake Annecy had been shot and one was a cyclist.

I immediately got on my phone to message friends and relations that it wasn’t me.  Because I happened to also be camping beside lake Annecy and maybe they might be a bit concerned as there was no more detail at the time.

As things developed further and more information came to light, by the morning the story was a lot clearer.  The events took place at a car park in a forest near a tiny place called Chevaline, close to Doussard, about one mile from where I was staying! It seems so far that 3 British citizens of Iranian origin who where holidaying in their caravan at a campsite just down the road were shot in their parked car, as was a French cyclist who appeared on the scene unexpectedly in the midst of the killing.  He had just passed a British cyclist who was a former member of the RAF who came upon the scene as a green four wheel drive vehicle was disappearing down the lane.  He found a 7/8 year old girl staggering around and administered first aid as far as possible and put her in the recovery position, which its said, probably saved her life.  He called the  Police and then all mayhem broke loose in the area.

The police arrived on the scene and under the instruction of the  Forensic team didn’t touch the bodies that were still in the car.  After about seven hours the forensic team allowed the bodies to be removed whereupon they discovered a four year old girl alive and hiding or covered by the bodies of her Mother and Grandmother, her father I assume was in the front.  She hadn’t moved in all that time! probably too afraid.

The status at the moment is that the four year old has just returned to the UK, the older girl has just been resuscitated after an induced coma for a few days as she had a fractured skull.  It is thought that she will have a lot of useful evidence when she can speak about the event.  The adults had all been shot with two bullets each to the head which to some makes it sound like an organised ‘assassination’.

All kinds of inquiries are ongoing by the French police there and the English police here and many rumours exist about possible reasons and causes but we await further information.  The situation is full of intrigue.

All this was going on so close to me and for the last couple of days before I left there was the intermittent wailing of police car sirens and the buzz of helicopters flying overhead.  But that was about all I saw of the actual events.

The latest events can be viewed here on the BBC News website

Where Was I ?…

OK, so carrying on from my previous blog, which more or less became devoted to the Olympics I should now try and remember some of the other cycling stuff that has been going on for me.    It appears after checking my Garmin records that since I returned from France at the beginning of July I have done 19 rides amounting to a total of 790.09 miles.  This kind of surprised me, pleasantly I might add because I would have guessed considerably less.  Following is a report generated from my Garmin records:-

Ride Summary, July 9th – August 22nd (Click image for larger view)

There have been three Team MK Saturday rides and one Team MK Wednesday ride in there somewhere, the rest have been solo rides.  I wont bore you with all the details of the solo rides as I might have done had I been keeping more up to date with my postings here.  The rides are pretty much all repeats of routes I have reported on before anyway.

This coming Saturday I am leading the Club ‘C’ group ride to Carlton again.  However the weather forecast is not good apparently, a 99% chance of rain with possibly a thunderstorm thrown in for good measure !  Weather forecasts have been wrong before but in my experience only when they have forecast sunshine.  If they forecast rain its generally what you get.  I will have to show up anyway and I expect one or two other foolhardy riders might join me.  I will be sure to let you know.

After the weekend I will be full on into final preparations for my road trip (car) to Annecy, France with my ride buddy Cyril for a fun packed camping and cycling 8 days around the mountains in the area.  Most of the climbs in the area are not too famous so far as classic climbs are concerned but there are some toughies I can tell you.   There is one classic climb in the area that I hope to add my classic climb list of Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux and that is the Col de Colombier.  Earlier this evening I was mapping out a route ready for loading into my Garmin from the campsite and it involves a total ride of 65 miles with the Colombier right in the middle.  It is an 8 mile climb to 5136 feet but that also means an 8 mile descent afterwards, which is nice !

I think that will then be the last of my mega climbs and I will sit back on my laurels as I reach my 70th year next year and I will stick to more ‘normal’ cycling befitting my years but don’t hold your breath !!

OK folks, This will probably be my last post before I disappear into the tunnel under the channel apart from maybe an account of Saturdays TMK ride if I have time.  When I reappear I hope to regale you all with detailed accounts of adventures, misadventures and mishaps that occur on my trip.  Until then Au Revoir for now as Del boy might say..

Back To Routine, Whatever That Is ??

Now the French odyssey’s are over, mine, Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky too its back to normal, for a while at least.  I have to say that Brads trip was considerably tougher than mine but we did cover about the same kind of mileage, about 2500 miles although 90% of mine was in a car and my trip was a week longer than his too.

So much back to normal that this Saturday I partook of my first Team MK training ride for about two months.  It was to Jenny Wrens cafe in Winslow, Buckinghamshire.  One of my favourites.  It’s always a circuitous route to get there, around 35 miles and then just a 10 mile trip from the cafe to Stony Stratford.  It also happened to be the first sunny and rain free day in what seems like half a lifetime.  Still not hot but good for cycling

Click Image For Detailed Stats

It was good to be riding in a group again, I always enjoy it.  It makes a nice change to have company on a ride.  My solo rides are OK but I tend to spend a lot of time having conversations with myself in my head,  I also seem to always come up with ideas and sometimes solve problems  when riding solo.  I guess it’s because there is nothing else to do and my mind just wanders where it will.

When we eventually arrived at the cafe it seemed crammed full of cyclists.  Obviously not only one of my favourites.  I know one of the groups was the ‘A Group’ from Team MK but there seemed to be much more than that.   It was difficult to find a seat even but I did, perched on the window sill.  I could see it was going to take a while to get served and then to eat and drink so given the short distance back I opted to forego the nourishment and ride back solo as I wanted to get back in time to take my seat in front of the TV for the penultimate stage of the Tour de France, a time trial.  This was duly won’t by Brad Wiggins and the final seal on his yellow jersey into Paris

Just as I was leaving the ‘A Group’ where also preparing to leave but I was away before them and was expecting to hear the whirring of tyres at any time as I made my lonesome way back.  I am not sure if they even came back the same way as me but it was not until I was entering Stony Stratford that they came past me.  Very fast too but I realised they were sprinting for the Stony Stratford sign at the time.  It always used to be the thing to do to ‘sprint for the sign’ when reaching the town of your destination as though it is the finish line of a race.  It still seems to be the case.  There is always one standing out like a great big banner by the road side as you enter every town and village here.

I do remember one occasion when we were sprinting for the sign in my younger, more energetic days and I was passed by someone coming past me like a rocket, Mark Cavendish style, with his head down and his chin almost touching the front tyre.  He came past so fast in fact that I just sat up when he passed me head down and going full steam and I could just watch helplessly as he rode full speed straight into the back of a parked car!!  He wrote off his bike and lost several from teeth in the process.  A good lesson learned I think!  Always sprint looking forward as Mark Cavendish does, not head down.

Bradley Wiggins Superman…

I couldn’t let the moment pass unrecognised by me that today, Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider ever to win the Tour de France.

What a momentous day for me, the British public and all its new found cycling fans.  If it has that effect on us I can’t imagine just how Brad Wiggins and the team are feeling now that its all over and history has been made.

It was a very much a team effort though as ‘Wiggo’ is always the first admit, likewise Mark Cavendish.  They are both the first to recognise and acknowledge it would never be possible without the team behind them.

I have never seen so much media coverage here.  Everywhere you look on TV, radio and printed media they are all over it.  I know a lot of people won’t fully understand what has actually been achieved from a physical point of view unless they have suffered up mountains and riding day after day for 3 weeks… or even riding for a couple of hours in some cases.  Sometimes my neighbours ask me how far I have been when I come back from a bike ride and if I say 40 or 50 miles they seem to consider that some kind of marathon.

They have no chance of understanding just whats involved in over 2000 miles around France and sometimes 5 or 6 mountain climbs in a stage of around 150 miles, in the saddle for up to 6 hours every day for 3 weeks.  They have rest days but even on these they go out on the bike for a couple of hours or so otherwise the body starts to think its time to relax and switches off.

So, hats off and congratulations to Bradley, Team Sky and all its riders, management and staff who made this historic day in British Cycling possible..

PS, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, and Mark Cavendish from team Sky and David Millar from Garmin are flying back to England from Paris tonight to meet up with Ian Stannard now to prepare to ride for Great Britian in the Olympic road race and go for Gold in six days time, so no time even to properly celebrate the win.  All four of the Tour de France riders have won stages in this years race and the fifth, Ian Stannard, has won the national road race championships.

 

Back To Business

I know its been an age since I last posted here but I have been away for a month on an annual pilgrimage to France. There is an account of one of the more memorable rides in the previous post to this.

Rather than bore you with all the details of my ride which were not too memorable I will just put links to the Garmin details of the rides and a few photos where appropriate.

The first ride of the holiday was my usual first ride of a trip down the Annecy Cycle Path. I have written often enough about this feature and still can’t praise it highly enough so I won’t repeat all that either. It is a good ride for getting your legs working again after a few days travelling.

Heading south down the Annecy cycle path

Click Image For Detailed Stats

The next ride was circuit of the lake another solo ‘warm up’ ride that I usually do on arrival before tackling the bigger climbs to get my legs turning again.

Annecy cycle path , near to the town

Click Image For Detailed Stats

After the ‘warm up’ rides the next ride was with a couple of new friends I made soon after I arrived. I discovered they were cyclists as well so a conversation was started. Dave and Dennis had travelled down together with respective wives in convoy with their caravans. They had got into the habit of taking early morning rides around the lake at Annecy before the rest of the world woke up and had a good ride around the lake missing a lot of the congestion around Annecy town and home in time for breakfast.

They invited me to join them on their next ride and graciously delayed their departure on this day to accommodate me as I am not such an early riser when on holiday and I joined them for the 23 mile circuit of the lake. So it was before lunch and not before breakfast ! We managed an average of 17mph on this occasion riding as a threesome.

The following ride was also with Dave and Dennis and was up to Semnoz, along the ridge and on to Cret du Chatillon. This was a ride I did last year and this years ride is documented in the previous post to this. It was definitely a memorable ride for so many reasons, weather and misadventures not being the least. At the same time, for all that there was a real sense of achievement afterwards given the circumstances and also the usual feeling of well being after a bike ride. Anyway, here are the ride details in all their glory.

Setting out in sunshine..

Dave , Me and Dennis returning after a thorough soaking.. but still smiling.. !

Click Image For Detailed Stats

Next was another solo ride around Lake Annecy, I haven’t posted the ride data for this for fear of boring my reader too much! However I foolishly decide to do it late on a Sunday afternoon and the section of path around Annecy was very busy, not only with cyclists but roller bladers, pedestrians and dog walkers. Not a wise move on my behalf and having got through that I was then confronted with negotiating traffic jams through a couple of small towns on the way round caused by the day trippers leaving Annecy in their cars in droves after their day by the lake. Getting past where I could and also at one point after clearing the towns, there was another hold up caused by a an accident between two cars who had obviously met face to face in an overtaking accident, no doubt caused by impatience after the aforesaid hold ups.

Heading into Annecy on the cycle path, not a busy part!

The next ride was just Dave and I as Dennis had left for home by then. It was a new ride for both of us, along the cycle path towards Annecy to Sevrier where we turned off the path and up the steady climb to the Col de Leschaux. We decided to do this as a late afternoon ride. The Col de Leschaux is about halfway down the the the descent we did a few days earlier coming down from the Cret de Chatillon but this time the sun was shining and it was considerably warmer and drier and we were able to enjoy the descent from Leschaux to Saint Jorioz much more.

Dave at the summit

Click Image For Detailed Stats

Dave and I next repeated a ride I did a couple of years ago taking in the the Col des Aravis with its summit at 1487 metres. Its a Tour de France mountain and has been included in ‘The Tour’ quite a few times, the last time being last year. Its quite a long ride but not too difficult as mountains go in this area. Its a 58 mile ride in total from Annecy in a big loop through Thonesw and up to the ski resort at Clusaz and then up the Aravis. Its all good riding and wonderful scenery.  It was a hot day for our ride but we were refreshed by a couple of strong black coffees at the top in preparation for the thrilling descent of about 16 miles, a long way without pedalling apart from a couple of hundred yards to climb off the plateau about half way down. After that we had only about 15 miles to ride back up the cycle path to ‘home’. This was the last ride for Dave and I together as the next day Dave departed for home. The last ride together for this year anyway.. !!

Summit achieved

Dave did it too !!

Click Image for Detailed Stats

My next expedition was again a solo circuit of Lake Annecy. It wasn’t my initial intention to try and beat the ‘record’ average speed of 17.3mph Dave and Dennis had achieved on one of their early morning rides. However, as things progressed and I was feeling good I decided about half way round to press on and see what I could do. I eventually managed to do it at an average speed of 17.5mph and set a target for them to beat when they return next year! And I should add that it wasn’t an early morning ride for me either, I like to do my rides after breakfast.  (I am just posting the details here for Dave’s benefit as proof..  )

Click Image For Detailed Stats

My final ride at Annecy was great to finish off with. Being bored by now with the ride up and down the cycle path, nice as it is I decided on a variation and explored the ride possibilities of a drive we had done in the car the day before to see the L’Abbaye de Tamie.  I set opff south along the cycle path and turned off the path at Faverges. I had thought it looked like a nice ride and wanted to see how it was for future reference.  The first part out of town was the toughest but not too severe and the rest was just a great ride, although uphill. There was very little traffic, a smooth road rising up through rolling countryside, in and out of the shade and towards the top a river tumbling down beside the road making its way steadily towards Lake Annecy no doubt.  I soon decided to press on to the top as when we came up the day before in the car I wasn’t sure we had actually reached the top before turning round and dropping down a little to the Abbey.

I made it easily to the top and found that we had reached the summit the day before more or less as I just rode on a few metres more and came across the Col de Tamie sign and duly photographed it..

The drop down was brilliant, all the way back to Faverges and the cycle path. The ride had been no further than going down to the end of the cycle path and back and I avoided the long trudge back up the path from Ugine. Although not much of an incline coming back, maybe 2% at most in places I also avoided the seemingly permanent headwind that blows down the valley from Annecy

Late afternoon sunshine at the top of Col de Tamie

Click Image For Detailed Stats

The next day we left Annecy and headed for Vermenton in the Burgundy area to site recommend by Dave and his wife Jan. It was a lovely quiet site with lots of sightseeing to do in the area. Hence as we were only there for 3 or 4 days cycling opportunities were limited but I did manage a ride across to the town of Chablis in the middle of the Chablis grape growing countryside.  It was a simple enough ride all along one road. A steady climb up onto a kind of plateau with a few ups and downs on it before it finally opened up into a spectacular view of the Chablis area and the hillsides as far as the eye could see covered in vineyards. I then dropped down into the town of Chablis and had a brief look around before returning back up the hillside I had just ridden down and back to Vermenton on the same route.

Click For Detailed Stats

Well thats it for now my friends, I hope you managed to find something of interest and not too boring a list of stats.

I return to Annecy at the end of August with my almost lifelong friend and cycling buddy Cyril for a more concentrated cycling visit to the Alps but this time travelling light and camping for 9 days altogether, and about 6 days  the Alps around Annecy